Students find it difficult to speak in English. Sometimes, they cannot express their ideas accurately in the foreign language and some other times they just lack ideas. This is a problem which many teachers face everyday in their classes when the time for developing speaking skills comes. I think that brainstorming can be a solution to this problem because it gives ideas to students and the confidence they need to start speaking. Here are some activities, which can be used to brainstorm ideas and get students start talking!!

1. List words to describe people's appearance.

2. List all the items you need for a party.

3. Make a list of house furniture.

1. Write down a food that begins with each letter of the alphabet.

2. Make a list of animals starting with the smallest animal and getting bigger.

1. The man got off his and walked away. (answers could include:

horse/bicycle/letter/backside)

2. Peter lived in a (answers could include: caravan/house/fantasy

world/apartment)

3. I don't like her because she is (answers could include: too

talkative/the teacher's pet/boring)

Pictures are a rich source of inspiration for brainstorming. Strange events evoke the biggest variety of responses. Use pictures from the textbook magazines or other sources.

1. What are these people doing?

2. List the objects in the picture.

3. What is this man thinking about?

4. Write four words to describe this person.

Songs are wonderful for reducing nervousness. They seem to be particularly effective in whole-class brainstorming when the teacher is writing the ideas on the board. Play a song for the class and ask questions like the following.

1. How does the singer feel?

2. What do you think the singer looks like?

3. Suggest titles for this song.

4. When do you think that this song was written?

Using videos or DVDs is a good resource since it provides a context in which dialogues can take place. For example, if you are showing students a video/DVD you ask students the following questions:

1. Who are the main characters in the film?

2. What do they look like?

3. What are they like?

4. Would you like to be? Why? Why not?

5. When does the story take place? In the sixties- in the Middle Ages - in summer -etc

6. Where does it take place? Describe the places where the story takes place. Use adjectives: interesting-boring-dull-picturesque- etc

7. Ss role-play one scene of the film and they introduce some changes to it. E.g.: They change the phrasal verbs used in the story or they change the adjectives, etc.

Each word must be changed, but each sentence must have a meaning. Example

1. Peter played flute in the orchestra.

2. Peter played flute in the park.

3. John played flute in the park.

4. John played soccer in the park.

5. John watched soccer in the park.

6. John watched soccer near the park.

7. John watched soccer near a park.

Bibliography

The Internet TESL Journal, Vol. IV, No. 7, July 1998

Si desean más detalles, más material o referencias, escriban a Cecilia Paz a la siguiente dirección de e-mail:

marpaz16@yahoo.com